Breakfast and Expert Insight

Corporate Governance in Japan: Winds of Change?  

With Visiting Guest
Jamie Allen
Founding Secretary General, Asian Corporate Governance Association

In Partnership with
Boston Common Asset Management

Event Description

The Japan Society of Boston and Boston Common Asset Management would be delighted to have you join us on May 19^th from 8:30 – 10:00 AM for a breakfast conversation with Mr. Jamie Allen, Founding Secretary General of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) on governance and sustainability trends in Japan and greater Asia. For the last 18 years, ACGA has engaged in constructive dialogue with regulators, institutional investors, listed companies and auditors on key corporate governance issues and has worked towards making positive improvements in the CG landscape in Asia.

After a “lost decade” of investor returns and political instability, Japan has emerged over the past few years as a more compelling potential investment allocation. From a bottom-up perspective, many companies are beginning to look attractive based on current relative and historical factors.  However the age-old concerns of how to understand the corporate governance structures of these companies has left some investors to be skeptical of future growth. Jamie will reflect on recent and pending changes to corporate governance rules and practices in Japan (and surrounding Asia), as well as offering insight to the broader governance landscape in Prime Minister Abe’s tenure.   

A more formal agenda and materials will be sent to registrants. 

Keynote Speaker:  Jamie Allen, Founding Secretary General, Asian Corporate Governance Association

Jamie is the Founding Secretary General of ACGA, responsible for overall management of the Association as well as directing its research, advocacy and educational work in 12 Asia-Pacific markets. Jamie is a published author and has more than 29 years experience as a writer, editor and analyst covering the economies of Greater China and East Asia from Hong Kong. Prior to the establishment of ACGA in mid-1999, he ran his own consulting firm and carried out customised economic research on mainly finance-related topics, including corporate governance, for multinational clients in Asia. From 1992-1995 he worked for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) as editor of Business Asia, a regional management newsletter, and was a contributor to The Economist from 1994-96. Jamie began his journalistic career in the late 1980s as a reporter for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He is a graduate of the Australian National University, Canberra, where he received a BA (Honours) in political science and Chinese language. He studied Mandarin for two years in Taiwan in 1983-4.

From 2001 to 2007, Jamie was a member of the Public Shareholders Group, a committee formed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to advise it on shareholder rights and corporate governance matters in Hong Kong.

From May 2006 to June 2010, he served on the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK). The Listing Committee is the body responsible for approving all new listings on the SEHK, deciding changes to the listing rules, and undertaking review and disciplinary hearings. In July 2013, Jamie was appointed to the Operations Oversight Committee (OOC) of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in Hong Kong. The FRC, a statutory body, has responsibility for investigating auditing irregularities in the accounts of Hong Kong listed companies. The OOC reviews and approves the FRC's audit investigation work.